Monet's Pond

Little knownBarely documented in English. This is the kind of place the site exists for.

Researched and written by Hinato

Monet's PondNemichi ShrineItadorispring waterSeki

Gifu · Seki

35.7249°N, 136.7685°E

Gifu has plenty of scenery; Monet's Pond is the kind that's worth planning a whole day around.

A small unnamed pond beside Nemichi Shrine in the Itadori valley, fed by spring water clear enough that the koi appear to be floating in air over the pale sand bottom. Water lilies grow across it. Someone posted a photograph, the resemblance to Monet's Giverny paintings did the rest, and a pond nobody had named became one of the most visited places in Gifu.

It is worth being straight about the conditions. Rain muddies the water and it takes two or three days to clear, so checking the previous days' weather matters more than checking the forecast. The lilies flower from roughly May to October and the pond looks least like the photographs in winter. It is free, open at all hours, and there are seven free car parks nearby because the village had to build them.

Visiting essentials

Best season

May–October for the water lilies | Clear days two or more after rain

How long to allow

30–45 minutes

Hours

Open at all times | Daylight for the water

Closed: Open year-round

Entry fee

Free | Free parking

Getting out there

Directions

Itadori 448, Seki, beside Nemichi Shrine. By car from Seki IC on the Tokai-Hokuriku Expressway. Free to visit with seven free car parks nearby; from the Ajisai-en car park it is about a short walk. By public transport, take the Gifu-Itadori line from JR Gifu Station to Horado Kiwi Plaza, then the Itadori community bus to Monet-no-Ike-mae and walk 150 m. Rain clouds the water for two to three days afterwards.

Local knowledge

**Check the last three days of weather, not the forecast.** Rain silts the spring and it takes two or three days to clear. A sunny day after a wet week gives you a brown pond. **Lilies flower roughly May to October.** Outside that the surface is bare. The water is still clear, but the photographs everyone has seen were taken in summer. **Bright overhead light is best.** The effect depends on seeing through the surface, so midday on a clear day beats golden hour here — the opposite of most viewpoints. **It is small.** A pond of a few dozen metres beside a small shrine. Twenty minutes covers it, and expecting a garden leads to disappointment. **Seven car parks, all free.** The village built them because the visitors came. Use the marked lots rather than the roadside.

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